How to recover an Excel file you closed without saving

Step by step

1. Reopen Excel and check Document Recovery

   After a crash or a power cut, start Excel again. If a Document Recovery pane appears on the left, open each listed file, check it and save the one you want with Save As. Do not close the pane before you have saved.

2. Use Recover Unsaved Workbooks

   Choose File › Open and click Recover Unsaved Workbooks at the bottom of the recent list. In some versions it is under File › Info › Manage Workbook. Excel opens the folder where it keeps unsaved copies.

3. Look in the folders yourself

   Type %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles into the File Explorer address bar, then also try %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Excel. Unsaved workbooks are often .xlsb files, AutoRecover pieces may end in .xar or .tmp. Copy anything recent to another folder before opening it.

4. Check OneDrive and version history

   If the workbook lived on OneDrive or SharePoint with AutoSave on, open it and choose File › Info › Version History. Earlier versions are stored online and survive a local crash.

5. Search the drive with FileFix Ultimate

   If the folders are empty, run the unsaved and auto-recovery file finder. It checks the Office locations, temporary files and Recent entries whose file is missing, and copies matches to a folder you choose without changing the drive.

6. Save and verify

   Open the recovered copy, check the sheets and formulas, and save it as a normal .xlsx in your documents folder. A copy left in a temporary folder can disappear again.

Why an unsaved workbook can still exist

Excel saves AutoRecover information every few minutes while you work, ten minutes by default. When Excel closes normally after you choose Don't Save, it may keep the last AutoRecover copy as an unsaved workbook for a few days. After a crash, the AutoRecover files are what the Document Recovery pane shows on the next start.

This only works if AutoRecover was switched on and at least one interval had passed. A workbook created a minute before the crash may never have been written anywhere. You can check the settings under File › Options › Save, which also shows the exact AutoRecover file location on your PC.

Why speed matters

Unsaved copies are temporary by design. Office removes them after some time, when you save the workbook later, or when disk cleanup tools empty temporary folders. Every hour you wait makes it more likely that the copy is gone.

If the folder is already empty, the copy may have been deleted rather than overwritten. Deleted temporary files on a hard drive can often still be found by a deleted file scan. On an SSD, TRIM usually clears them quickly, so recovery is less likely.

Turn on protection for next time

In File › Options › Save, keep both AutoRecover options on and lower the interval to five minutes or less. Store important workbooks on OneDrive or another folder with version history so AutoSave can keep earlier versions for you.

When it won't work

• AutoRecover was off, or the workbook was never open long enough for a copy to be written.
• The unsaved copy was cleaned up and the free space was reused, or TRIM erased it on an SSD.
• Changes made after the last AutoRecover save are lost, so the copy may be a few minutes older than your work.

How FileFix Ultimate helps

• Searches the usual Excel AutoRecover and UnsavedFiles locations and document-like temporary files in one pass.
• Lists Recent files whose original is now missing and can scan the drive for that deleted file with one click.
• Opens the source read-only and copies results to a folder you choose, never back to the same place.
• If a recovered workbook will not open, Damaged file repair can rebuild it or salvage its cell values.

Frequently asked questions